Embattled Canadian phonemaker Research in Motion, Ltd.'s (TSE:RIM) new marketing chief, Frank Boulben, recently told reporters that his company's fans are so in love with BlackBerry 10 that he doesn't even need to do much to promote it, simply relying on social media word of mouth. He comments, "The most natural thing to do from a marketing standpoint is to put that experience in the hands of our fans and let them do the marketing job, so to speak."

But such worship of RIM's vaporous, oft delayed flagship product seemed far from the minds of former loyal users interviewed in a recent piece by The New York Times. The newspaper reports that BlackBerry owners are increasingly feeling a sense of shame and frustration at their dated devices.

Comments Los Angeles sales representative Rachel Crosby, "I’m ashamed of it. I want to take a bat to it. You can’t do anything with it. You’re supposed to, but it’s all a big lie."

Victoria Gossage, a 28-year-old hedge fund manager, recalls asking a concierge for a charger for her BlackBerry, bemoaning, "First he said, 'Sure.' Then he saw my phone and — in this disgusted tone — said, 'Oh no, no, not for that.' You get used to that kind of rejection."

"I feel absolutely helpless. You’re constantly watching people do all these things on their phones and all I have going for me is my family’s group BBM chats."

Craig Robert Smith, a Los Angeles musician, comments, "BlackBerry users are like MySpace users. They probably still chat on AOL Instant Messenger."

Harsh. But not as harsh as Nick Mindel, a 26-year-old investment analyst, assessment of RIM's odd attempt to serenade developers. He opines, "This is the sign of a desperate company."

Of course the article is all a house of anecdotal cards, but its nearly impossible to report on mobile news without getting the overwhelming feeling that next to no one really wants a BlackBerry these days.

The editors over at CrackBerry took offense to the NYT's article and decided to poll their own readers. So far, nearly 24 percent of their respondents are "embarrassed" by their BlackBerry.